Garanti BBVA International is proud to announce that its COO, Marco Witteveen, has joined the board of the Foreign Bankers Association (FBA) in the Netherlands. The FBA is a network organization of foreign banks operating in the Netherlands.
Within Garanti BBVA International, Marco Witteveen is responsible for IT, the digitalization and automation of the banking operations and payment traffic, and administrative processing. He is also responsible for information security, where availability, confidentiality and integrity must be guaranteed. Marco's appointment to the FBA board was an obvious one in that respect.
"When one of their board members left, I was introduced to the sitting board. And they saw my expertise and experience as a welcome addition. My specialism in digitization, IT, security, DORA for instance, that was a desirable addition. To ensure some good events in that area as well."
The task of the FBA is to guide and help foreign bank branches or subsidiaries here in the Netherlands. On the Dutch business climate but also in terms of legislation. All bank branches and subsidiaries must comply with the legislation that has been agreed upon here in the Netherlands and in Europe. FBA informs the foreign banks through meetings, information sessions and events. For them an important network to catch up and explain how things work in practice in the Dutch market. Among other things, get to know the Financial Markets Authority (AFM) and the Dutch Central Bank (DNB).
"For example, we have organized together with KMPG a DORA event - Digital Operational Resilience Act. Within the banking world in the EU, this has to be implemented. This is not an easy task. We as FBA help our members with what this means for their bank. They have headquarters outside Europe where they are not always acquainted with what we are doing in Europe - and the Netherlands in particular. We inform them about what we want to do further with cybersecurity and operational resilience. How do you prevent hacking? How do you deal with incidents? How do you test the security with the organizations you work with?"
"We help the foreign banks with these questions. Our members are then able to provide their headquarters with the right and practical information."
"We also provide training. Among other things, KYC (Know Your Customer) training. So, how to onboard a customer within Dutch and European regulations? What should you take into account? What requirements, what documentation do you have to keep in mind? What steps do you have to follow? We give them the contacts with suppliers in the Netherlands and Europe; who often have market standard tooling.”
"At events I give a lot of presentations about our digitization program. That’s when you notice that Garanti BBVA International is much more than just a bank. Our international network is extensive. As a foreign bank in the Netherlands, we try to make the difference. Also now, in the FBA. Which makes us very proud."
Note
Some fifty international banks are affiliated with FBA including: BNP Paribas, Allianz, HSBC, Bank of Beijing, Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole. And of course, Garanti BBVA International.
